AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases New Stake in Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK)

AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQBK) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,142 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $322,000. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Equity Bancshares as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundry Partners LLC raised its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 890.4% in the 2nd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 104,985 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,695,000 after purchasing an additional 94,385 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 754,069 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,917,000 after purchasing an additional 10,868 shares in the last quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC now owns 13,673 shares of the bank’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Equity Bancshares by 112.5% in the 1st quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 13,600 shares of the bank’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Equity Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth $42,000. 71.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equity Bancshares Stock Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ:EQBK opened at $44.28 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $39.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.52. The company has a market capitalization of $675.40 million, a PE ratio of 73.80 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Equity Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.78 and a 1-year high of $44.68.

Equity Bancshares (NASDAQ:EQBK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.07. Equity Bancshares had a net margin of 3.75% and a return on equity of 12.43%. The firm had revenue of $55.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.56 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Equity Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. This is an increase from Equity Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Equity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on EQBK shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Equity Bancshares from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Stephens raised shares of Equity Bancshares from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $46.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equity Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.25.

Insider Activity at Equity Bancshares

In other news, Director Leon Borck acquired 1,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $38.77 per share, with a total value of $56,875.59. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,952.57. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Brad S. Elliott sold 24,801 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.64, for a total transaction of $1,007,912.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 151,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,161,674.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leon Borck acquired 1,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $38.77 per share, for a total transaction of $56,875.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,941 shares in the company, valued at $462,952.57. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,101 shares of company stock valued at $1,351,925. 8.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Equity Bancshares Profile

Equity Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Equity Bank that provides a range of banking, mortgage banking, and financial services to individual and corporate customers. The company accepts various demand, savings, money market, and time deposits. Its loan products include commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, commercial lines of credit, working capital, term, equipment and aircraft financing, acquisition, expansion and development, borrowing base, real estate construction, homebuilder, agricultural, government guaranteed, and other loan products.